Landing device for aeroplanes



E. L. MARTIN.

LANDING DEVICE FOR AEROPLANES.

APPLICATION HLED FEB. 26. 1920.

1,352,077, PatentedSept. 7,1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

. INVENTOR a M I, M

ATTORNEYS E. L. MARTIN.

LANDING DEVICE FOR AEROPLANES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 26, 1920.

1,352,077} 7 PatentedSept. 7, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

INVENTOR adly/ 3 BY HM Kai,

ATTORNEYS s1de strain so that ful 1 vlage of the machine.

ERNEST L. MARTIN, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS.

LANDING DEVICE FOR AEROPLANES.

To aZZ ZU/LOl/L it may concern Be it'known that I, Enx ns'r L. MARTIN, citizen of the United States, residing at Iouston, in the county of Harris and State of Texas, have invented certain new and use- Aeroplanes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in a landingdevice for aeroplanes.

One object of the invention is to provide a landing device of the character described which may be controlled by the aviator and adjusted in accordance with the direction of movement of the plane at the time of landing.

In landing the machine often encounters side winds which tend to force the plane lat erally, subjecting the landing wheels to great their anchorage is often broken and it is the object of this invention to provide a landing device which may be so adjusted in landing, as to relieve it from the lateral strain caused by the wind blowing in a cross current relative to the direction of movement of the plane.

Another object of the invention is to provide a landing device whose wheels are cushioned by means of a pneumatic cushion so that the shock and strain incident to landing is greatly relieved.

With the above and other objects in View, the invention has particular relation to certain novel features of construction, operation and arrangement of parts, adescription of which is given in this specification illus trated in the accompanying drawings where- 1n:

' Figure 1 shows a rear View of the landing device,

Fig. 2 shows a Fig. 8 shows a tion and Fig. 4 shows a side View of an areoplane with the landing device attached.

eferring now more particularly to the drawings wherein like numerals of reference designate similar parts, in each of the figures, the numeral 1 designates the fuse- Secured to this fuselage underneath and slightly in front of the wings or planes there isa rectangular frame work 2. Depending from the sides of this frame work are the A-frames 3, 3 which are perspective view thereof, s1de view partially in sec- Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed February 26, 1920.

mprovements in Landing Devices for cable, as 18, is formed into Patented Sept. 1920.

Serial No. 361,496.

pivotally connected to the frame work by means of universal joints 4; and these A frames are held in fixed relation to each other by means of a cross link 26, which is pivoted at its ends to said frames. The rear arm of each A-frame consists of a cylinder 5 in which there is fitted a piston 6; This piston is rigidly attached to the inner end of the rod 7 which operates through a stuffing box 8 carried by the lower end of the cylinder. The lower end of each rodis bifurcated forming the spaced fingers 9, 9 and rotatably mounted between these respective fingers are the landing wheels 10, 10. The upper end of each cylinder has an inlet valve 11 through which a sufficient amount of lubricating oil may be introduced into the cylinder and there is a by pass 12 provided to permit any oil which escapes past piston to find its way back into cylinder above the piston.

A shaft 13 is rotatably mounted in end bearings 14 carried by the respective ends of the frame work 2 and fixed to said shaft inside of its respective bearings are small sprocket wheels 15, 15. Anchored to the frame work on opposite sides at each end are the pulleys 1G, 16 and operating over these respective sets of pulleys are the cables 1T, 17, the ends of each cable being crossed and being attached to the lower part of the opposite- A-frame. A section of each a sprocket chain which operates over the corresponding sprocket wheel 15.

In front of the aviator there is a rotatably mountedsteering shaft 19, whose rear end has the steering wheel 20, fixed thereon. This shaft has the fixed sprocket wheel 21 in alinement with the corresponding sprocket wheel 22 fixed on the shaft 13, and operating over these sprocket wheels there is a sprocket chain 23 through which rotation is imparted from the shaft 19 to the shaft 13.

It is obvious that by the manipulation of the hand wheel 20 the position of the landing device may be varied, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. l, and the angle thereof relative to the aeroplane may be readily changed, so as to relieve said device from unnecessary side strain in alighting; due to cross currents of the wind.

Extending rearwardly from the lower end of each of the rods 7 are the downwardly curved stabilizers 24 whose free ends are formed into plate like projections 25 which which each wheel. is suspended from the cut into the surface of the ground and hold fuselage, and means through which both the steering Wheels 1.0 to a direct course. Wheels may be simultaneously moved later- What I claim is: ally in either direction relative to the fuse- 5 1. The combination with an aeroplane, of lage.

va landing device depending therefrom and 4:. A landing device for aeroplanes includincluding landing Wheels pivotally connecting wheel supports pivoted to and depended to the fuselage and means for simultaing from the fuselage and spaced apart, a neously adjusting said wheels laterally, in Wheel carried by each support and a manual 10 the same direction. mechanism for simultaneously swinging 2. The combination with an aeroplane of said supports laterally in the same direca landing device including laterally swingtion. I ing frames, spaced apart and depending In testimony whereof I have signed my from the fuselage, landing wheels anchorec name to this specification in the presence of 15 to thia frames and a device flor siniultatwo subscribing witnesses.

neous y movin both rames ateral in either direction relative to the fuselagZ. v ERNEST T MARTIN 3. The combination with an aeroplane, of \Vitnesses: a landing device including landing wheels, WM A. GATHEY,

20 a pneumatlc cushioning device through A. ALLEN. 

